Photo by Vicki Brown, UMNS
Nyadire Distances
A list of clinics and the distance of each one from the hospital.
The renovation of Chikwizo Clinic, one of six satellite health clinics operated by the Nyadire United Methodist Hospital, is nearly complete and work has begun on Nyahuku Clinic.
“The health clinics are way out in the bush and woefully inadequate,” said Drew Harvey, a member of the Nyadire Connection. “When we first visited each clinic to understand what was required, there would be 150 people waiting under a tree to express to us how critically important the clinic is to their community. They had many emotional stories to tell.”
Harvey said the project escalated fundraising by the connection, since the clinic renovations will cost about $300,000 each. Funds for the two renovations came from individuals, social media campaigns, United Methodist churches in the Western Pennsylvania Conference and the conference itself. Dutilh United Methodist Church in Cranberry Township, Pennsylvania, held clinic days in September to raise money, and a fundraiser was scheduled in October.
The clinics serve between 5,000 to 8,000 people in the local community and are the primary medical care facility for people with malaria, cholera, hepatitis, and other infectious diseases. A high percentage of women deliver their babies at these clinics, which also provide pre- and post-natal counseling and immunizations for babies and children.
When the renovations began, none of the clinics had running water or flush toilets and all needed electrical service, water and more space.
The Men’s Ministry at Dutilh took on the responsibility for coordinating the rebuild of each clinic to bring it up to a minimum standard.
– Vicki Brown, UMNS